The Game of Politics

I hate politics, but I am very concerned and educated on issues facing our area, our state and our country.  I never, ever provided any contribution to a political campaign until the 2008 Presidential election.  I gave money to John McCain's campaign after he announced Sarah Palin as his running mate -- with the strict instruction that I absolutely not receive any further request for money from his campaign or the Republican Party.  That didn't work out so well because I get requests from the Republican Party for money on a regular basis.  Sarah Palin has been vilified by the mainstream media and made to look like a dummy.  She ain't no dummy, and if I were her, I would never run for public office again, but make as much money as I could (and do something good with  it).

For the hard left and hard core Democrats, they will never admit what a complete joke Barack Obama is as President.  For those that fell for the "hope" and "change" and "we can believe" hooie, I blame you for the disaster this country is in right now. Blame the deficits, the terrorism attacks, the wars -- heck, Nepolitano even blamed Bush for the Christmas Day failed bombing because the regulations enacted during the Bush presidency allowed a terrorist on that plane.  Hello!  You are in charge of Homeland Security, so did you not read them?  If you felt they were flawed, why didn't YOU change them?  Politics is always about spin and blame the other side, and it is getting ridiculous. I've actually seen people argue with a straight face that spending untold amounts of money the country does not have is really helping the economy.  If you dig, you see the only significant amount of jobs in this economy are government jobs.  That means more bureaucracy, more waste.  I'm sick of it.  I'm sick of the spin and the politics. Watch the news -- spending money the govt. does not have has put Greece, Spain, Great Britian and likely, all of Europe in a precarious position.  Our leaders want to make us like Europe.  That is crazy.

So last week, one of my Democrat colleagues asked if I was interested in hearing what the Chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party had to say about where the Democratic Party in Tennessee was headed.  I really truly went with an open mind thinking I was going to hear what the Democratic Party in Tennessee stood for, what its values were and what it hoped to accomplish to make our State a better place to work and live.  Boy, was I wrong.  The total presentation was about how important it was for the legislature to come back under Democratic control.  He showed the seats that were vulnerable because they had Republicans running for re-election for the first time.  If you didn't know, the state legislature lost its Democratic control for the first time in I don't know, maybe a gazillion years to the Republicans.  The first time Republicans running for re-election included my representative Chad Faulkner.  The Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party all but called him a back woods, hick, Sheriff deputy.  How nice.

Then, one of the Republicans had the misfortune of going into public office, succumbing to the "power" and engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a female worker on his staff.  He is now divorced as a result.  Thanks for that bit of information.  Yet, it takes the National Enquirer to out an affair by a Democratic Presidential candidate cheating on his terminally ill wife.  Now all of the Democratic candidates either challenging or running for re-election in vulnerable positions were "well connected" or came from long standing political families.  Gee, we really want politics as usual so let's vote for these people.   His presentation left me speechless.  I really wanted to say a lot, but I did not out of respect for the two prominent Democrats who are my co-workers and who he mentioned by name -- along with the, at least, five requests for money.  If I were a card carrying Democrat and heard what he said,  I would be embarrassed.

The gist of the presentation was this -- it is extremely important for the Democrats to re-take control of the state house.  Why?  Because the next session will be the one where our State evaluates and re-districts a/k/a making the districts such that it benefits their party's candidates in the federal Congressional elections.  That was what it was all about!  How do you like that?  Did the Chair of the Tennessee Democratic Party tell me what they see as the vision for our state, how they can help our state, how they can help the people of our state?  Absolutely not.  It was all about winning and power.  It is sickening.

I would certainly hope a similar presentation by the head of the Tennessee Republican Party would be different.  But I have my doubts.  I get called a Republican on a regular basis, kind of like being called a drug dealer.  I am not.  I am conservative, and I am independent.  I don't fit into a peg on the Democrats radar or the Republicans.  I am one of those Bible reading, gun toting people Barack Obama made fun of while speaking to the crazy people in the People's Republic of California, all elitists who know better than us stupid backwards Americans.   I am well educated.  I have voted in every single election since I was 18 years old (thanks MOM)!  I educate myself on the issues and the candidates.

Heck, when I was young, I even voted for Al Gore for Congress (my old home district) and Senator.  I wouldn't vote for him as the county dog catcher now.  He has used false information to create a "global crisis" and now won't even answer a single question about  the total junk science in An Inconvenient Truth, without it being pre-approved and "scripted" before hand.  By the way, this just happened when he got an honorary degree on Friday from my alma mater.  He has made millions of dollars on the carbon credit scam and uses energy like kids who leave the lights on all the time.  Do as I say, not as I do, and get rich off it, like Al Gore has.

I voted for Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, and a good governor who was handed a mess of TennCare (thanks Republican Don Sunquist) -- prelude to Obamacare -- and fixed it.  It was a painful process which resulted in many people losing coverage, because our state could not afford it. Obamacare is going to be a disaster for our country and it needs to be repealed now.  I sit here in amazement that normal people bought into "I hate Bush" -- who by the way was a horrible President from a fiscal responsibility perspective, but by George, I give him credit for protecting us from another horrible terrorist attack on our own land following 9/11.  Now, we can't use the words "terrorism" or jihad Islamic fanatics" and instead we call it "overseas contingency operations"  -- What?

We are bending over backwards for inclusiveness to tell people who are dead set to kill us, and who could care less about the plight of America (until they realize their economy  and government just might follow the same course if America fails).  Why?  Joining hands with Cuba, Venezuela, and Iran and singing kum ba ya ain't working out so well.  These countries are intent at seeing the destruction of our country, our values and our beliefs.

So what should I do?  I don't know about you, but I'm active in the political process like never before.  The mainstream media might call me a "tea bagger" -- Obama has actually used that term, which if you think about  is akin to calling a black person the despised "N" word.  How can a President get by with calling tax paying, country loving, small government people a derogatory term and nary a mention of it in the mainstream media? Maybe because they are calling the Tea Party protesters "tea baggers" too.  We are the ones who get called racists because we dare oppose the first black President in American history.  The media is evaluating the demographics of the Tea Party protesters.  Yet, Arizona passes a law to actually enforce the federal laws on immigration, and the protests are violent spectacles.  How many people have been arrested at a Tea Party rally, really?  They are people who are grand mas and pap paws.  But oh my, they disagree with the President so they are to be outcast.  What has our country come to?

I can safely say I have been more inclusive and open in my dealings with people from different faiths and different cultures than our President, who apparently despises the foundations upon which our country is based.  Does Barack Obama count as one  of his own -- kids who are Muslim or Buddhist?  I do.  I love my country.  I love our capitalist system because the private sector has good and bad, but for the most part, most businesses realize that treating their employees and customers with respect and dignity actually makes them more profitable.  I love the environment and animals.  I hate to see any living creature killed.  Just ask the 6 foot black snake slithering across my side walk last week.  Hopefully, he is cruising the woods of Cove Norris still because I would not and could not -- or allow any one -- to kill him.  I recycle.  I started composting.  I want to eliminate the trash the Thompson family creates.  I turn off the lights and conserve energy.  I love nature.

I think homosexual unions should never be recognized in a church, but from a government perspective, a marriage is a legal contract between two people.  I have no problem with civil union contracts between same sex people committed to each other. We talk about the sanctity of marriage, yet the heterosexual divorce rate approaches 50%.  How hypocritical is that?  I do not see how any one can say with a straight face that life does not begin at conception because abortion is against God's law.  Can you really say that Roe v. Wade, which allows legal abortion in this country up until the birth of a child, is reasonable or rationale?  I can't.  I know there are reasons that I can ever understand or want to be in that position that might make some one make a painful decision to end an unborn child's life.  But for goodness sakes, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize you are pregnant and make those painful choices early and then you have to reconcile that decision with God.  But our government allows unborn children to be sucked into the birth canal and a needle stuck into their brain to kill them.  Is that something our government should be protecting as "choice"?  I don't think so.  The number of abortions in this country is totally unacceptable.  Yet, we have a culture that promotes sex, single motherhood, abuse of women by portraying them as sexual objects and so much more.  It is wrong.

I am for the Fair Tax.  I want to reduce the ridiculous bloated federal government that we have.  Start with the Department of Education because it is the state's responsibility to educate the children, not the federal government.  I don't want a Supreme Court Justice who thinks Socialism has a place in America.  Do you hear me Elena Kagan?  I don't want a big government.  There is no need for it.  Oh but the only reason for it is to create power.  Not with you or me -- but with the politicians who want big government.  We need to send every one of them packing, and we need to re-gain control of our country.

I am about as diverse from a political perspective as you can get. You might also guess there is no way I will ever run for political office because I don't fit into the pegs.  The most important thing about all of this is I'm not going to worry about it.  I'm going to do what I can to make a difference as opposed to sitting on my rear, not learning about issues and thinking raising my own kids is "community service."  I'm going to trust in Jesus and God to put our country in the right direction -- through the actions of people who care.  And if our country does self-destruct, it is all in God's plan to show the world that political power and greed can bring to ruin the best country ever.  Then, from the ashes what our fore fathers fought to achieve will rise again.

God Bless America!